Santa Monica-Malibu Unified School District is switching to green cleaning procedures and green cleaners for use in classrooms and district facilities. With a grant from the State of California Department of Health, the District will receive training for custodial, facilities and purchasing staff on the hazards of conventional cleaners, and how to select and purchase safer, more environmentally preferable cleaners.

Local heroes like YOU and Deborah Moore are making a difference in the Bay Area. Green Schools Initiative's Executive Director, Deborah Moore is winning a Jefferson Award for Public Service from the Bay Area's KCBS Channel 5. Watch the short news clip!

About 18 months ago, I was reviewing our email listserve and Facebook fans and noticed we had someone in Bali, Indonesia from something called the Green School. I checked out their website and was intrigued by the new school they were building – completely out of bamboo – and the sustainability curriculum they were using as the foundation of their approach to learning.

The Green California Schools Summit honored Green Schools Initiative's Deborah Moore with its 2010 Pioneer Leadership Award in recognition of "the significant inroads she has made in promoting green culture in schools."

Education faculty from around the country are launching a new Education for Sustainability Special Study Group (EFS SSG) within the American Association of Colleges for Teacher Education (AACTE). The SSG will provide a forum for teacher educators interested in integrating sustainability into the pre-service and on-going professional development of PreK-12 teachers.

Who knew that schools account for 27 percent of the U.S. construction market? With so much school construction, there's a huge opportunity to create healthy, resource-efficient learning environments for America's future. Discover how the San Bernardino, CA and Washington, DC school districts are doing just that.